A properly tuned boat propeller can enhance vehicle speed, increase fuel efficiency, and reduce propeller induced vibration. With today's computerized propeller inspection equipment, software programs enable operators to measure a propeller blade to determine whether its pitch or other technical data, such as skew, rake, or camber are in compliance with manufacturer specification.
After blade information is obtained, the propeller is removed from the measuring device, and the blades are hammered, or tuned in the appropriate areas as determined by the measuring device. In most circumstances, the propeller is placed back on the measuring device to confirm whether the blade is in conformance with industry standards. If a blade of the propeller is not yet within a suitable range of pitch, the propeller may again be removed from the measuring device to be tuned in the appropriate areas. The cycle continues until the propeller is within acceptable tolerances of industry standards.
A propeller measuring device includes a rotatable mount and a stylus positioned to measure the pitch of a propeller blade mounted to the rotatable mount. The rotatable mount is coupled to the propeller measuring device by a bearing assembly to enable the rotation. To preserve the mechanical stability of the bearing assembly, the propeller must be removed after blade measurements have been taken so that the propeller may be tuned in the appropriate areas. Otherwise the bearing assembly would bear the load applied during the tuning process, which may cause the bearing assembly to weaken and fail. Removing the propeller for tuning is both time-consuming and labor-intensive.
Based on the foregoing, a need exists for an improved propeller tuning device that can be used for both measuring and tuning propeller blades without requiring the propeller to be removed from the tuning device.